China crushes protest by monks in Tibet

China admitted today that it had quashed a protest by Buddhist monks in the
Tibetan capital of Lhasa, underscoring the opposition Beijing still faces to
its rule in the remote Himalayan region.

Tibetans all over the world took to the streets yesterday to commemorate the
49th anniversary of an uprising against Chinese rule and to press their
demand for independence ahead of the Beijing Olympics.

Among them, according to a report on Radio Free Asia, were up to 300
protesters who tried to march from Drepung monastery on the outskirts of
Lhasa to the symbolic Potala Palace in the city centre.